


Tin Foil My Cactus

by Tsuki_Amano



Series: 365 Days of Stony [6]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Iron Man - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, Fluff, M/M, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Skinny Steve, meet cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-09
Updated: 2016-11-16
Packaged: 2018-08-30 01:47:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8513992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tsuki_Amano/pseuds/Tsuki_Amano
Summary: All Tony wanted to do is look after Pepper's garden. If nothing died, he'd consider it a plus point. But he didn't expect the cute neighbour Pepper had forgotten to mention....Who was wearing a tin foil hat.(No seriously Steve, your tin foil hat is actually reflecting sunlight and blinding me.)Or the one where Tony looks after Pepper's garden and notices her cute but potentially eccentric neighbour who wears tin foil hats to ward off alien rays.





	1. Chapter 1

It’s only when he feels his feet getting wet that he knows he’s missing the plant entirely. Spluttering, he moves the watering can away from his feet and over the potted plants he’s meant to be watering. Glancing up, Tony hopes that the strange man in the opposite balcony hasn’t spotted him, but he has no such luck apparently. A pair of curious blue eyes are staring over the railing into Pepper’s garden and when they catch sight of Tony looking in his direction, they crinkle as the skinny man smiles. His smile is almost as blinding as the sunlight reflecting off the top of his tin foil hat.

_Almost._

It’d been a fairly calm regular afternoon at Stark Industries and Tony was camped out in his office, avoiding signing contracts he didn’t want to sign and working on designs for a new prototype car. He’d been rudely pulled out of his blissful reverie by the door to his office being flung wide open. Tony winced as he heard the clacking of Pepper’s impressive heels come to a halt, her eyes narrowing as she noted the pile of unfinished paperwork on his table.

“Uh…would you believe me if I said that I was only taking a break from it?” Tony tried weakly.

Pepper looks unimpressed and to be fair, Tony doesn’t expect her to fall for that. She’s far too intelligent for that and she’s known him for far too long to fall for a simple ruse like that.

“I’m going to ignore the fact those papers were meant to be signed two hours ago, because I know you’ll have them signed within the hour.” She fixes him with her best ‘I-Know-Where-You-Live’ glare and Tony gulps. Putting down his StarkPad and grabbing a pen, he gives her his most winning smile (to which he knows she’s immune) and says, “You bet! I’ll get started on it right away!”

Nodding her head, Pepper adds, “I came to ask you for a favour actually. I’m away next week in Japan for that conference with the investors and I need you to look after my garden while I’m away.”

He blinks. Because Pepper was asking him to look after living things for her, she was actually entrusting him with a task that required responsibility. The surprise must show on his face because she rolls her eyes exasperatedly and exclaims, “The usual person I get to do this is away in Hawaii and you know I can’t trust just anyone in my apartment. I’m sure you can do it.”

“Pep, I don’t know the first thing about looking after plants. In fact, I don’t even think I could look after a cactus if I tried to and they’re meant to be hardy, aren’t they?”

“I’ve typed out instructions and mailed them to you. Please Tony?”

And he can’t say no. Because even if Pepper hadn’t been the world’s best personal assistant and essentially ran Stark Industries for him a good portion of the time, she was also one of his closest friends and had stayed with him through everything, and that was worth more than a little inconvenience.

Which is why he ends up nodding and agreeing to look after her plants for the span of the coming week. She beams at him and hugs him, pecking his cheek before striding out and he’s left contemplating what kind of a mess he’s gotten himself into.

The first day, he tentatively unlocks the door to Pepper’s apartment and lets himself in. It’s organized to a fault he notices, unlike his own. It’s not the first time he’s been over, but he still feels out of place because he’s here by himself and he feels too shabby and messy to be in such a pristine location.

Pulling the glass doors open after he unlocks them; he walks out into the balcony. Pepper’s got a thriving garden with a variety of plants, some decorative and some that she claims will give fruits and vegetables in a few months. Filling up the pale blue watering can, he begins to water each pot, carefully recalling her strict instructions about just how much water each plant needed to survive.

He's turning the corner, getting ready to water the begonias when a flash of light in the corner of his vision catches his eyes. Glancing up, he expects to see a metal railing reflecting light or a passing vehicle.

What he doesn’t expect to see is an absolutely delectable young man, wearing a pair of jeans that are so tight Tony wonders how they’re not cutting off his circulation, a loose white t-shirt and a tin foil hat on his head.

He rubs his eyes a few times to make sure he’s not seeing things, but each time, he’s shocked by what he sees.

The man is looking after his own garden, which while not as neat as Pepper’s, is lush and green and inviting, and seems to be singing as he prunes some dead leaves from a creeper. Tony notices that the hems of his jeans are rolled up and he’s walking around barefoot, flashing his ankles as he croons to his plants.

He’s so distracted that he ends up watering his foot instead of Pepper’s plants.

The man looks up and smiles at him, momentarily looking confused. He walks over to the edge of his balcony to greet Tony, and says, “Hello! You must be Tony, Ms. Potts’ friend!”

Managing to pull himself from his daze long enough to respond, he replies, “I’m afraid you have the upper hand here. Pep didn’t really mention anyone else.”

Laughing, the man adjusts his hat, which is really quite distracting, and pushes an errant lock of blond hair away from his face. “The name’s Steve Rogers. I’d shake your hand but mine are a bit muddy at the moment. It’s lovely to meet you. Pepper was awful glad that you agreed to look after her garden, she’s worked real hard to get things to grow.”

Swallowing down the lump in his throat, Tony notes the hint of a Brooklyn accent in his voice. “Well, anything for a friend. Pep’s done a lot for me over the years, this was the least I could do for her.”

“That’s still nice of you to do.” For a second the pair stand in a comfortable silence, before Steve says, “I’m afraid I’ll have to cut our conversation short, I’ve got to finish this and then head to work. I think Pepper said you’d be here the whole week? Feel free to ask me for any help you may need. I’ll see you around Tony!”

He waves weakly as Steve leaves and finishes watering the rest of the garden in a daze.

When he finishes, he dials Pepper’s number on his phone and sinks into the plush sofa in the living room. Pepper picks up on the third ring. “What did you set on fire?”

“Pep,” he whines, because that was one time, “Why didn’t you tell me you had a hot neighbour?”

There’s silence on the other end of the line, and for a second he wonders if Pepper has hung up, till she suddenly says, “Wait. You mean Steve? Steve Rogers? I mean, he didn’t really seem your type.”

“What? Why not?”

“You met him Tony. He’s one of the sweetest guys you’ll ever meet. You know he offered to help me repot my roses?”

“Why does that make him not my type?”

“Because he’s after long term relationships,” Pepper says bluntly. “Tony, you know I love you and I want what’s best for you. And believe me when I say he would be amazing for you and you’d be wonderful for him. But you haven’t been looking for a long-term relationship for a while, not after Stane. And it wouldn’t be fair to involve him in a short-term affair.”

“Pep, I don’t want to sleep with him, I just want to talk to him.”

She gives him an unimpressed snort for his efforts.

“Well. Can you at least tell me what’s up with his tin foil hat?”

There’s another pause.

“He uh. He said that was to deflect the alien rays.”


	2. Chapter 2

He’s back again the next day, a little earlier this time because Pepper’s insisted one of her rose bushes needed plant food and that her vines needed pruning. When he steps out onto the balcony, he lets himself pause for a moment and takes in the tranquillity of it all. There’s something peaceful, standing among plants like this, and the air seems cleaner. He knows theoretically it might be true, but he doesn’t allow himself to get too whimsical. After all, he’s only serving as _Plant Nanny_ for a week and then he’ll be back to his own apartment, which although lavish, seems impersonal and lifeless compared to Pepper’s.

Tony silently bemoans the absence of Steve, but dutifully begins to water the plants. By the time he’s completed his rounds, the air is thick with the heady smell of damp earth. He lets a small smile slip onto his face at the scent and picks up the plant food bag, opening it.

The second the smell hits him, he immediately yanks the bag closed and grimaces.

Laughter from the other balcony makes him look up. Steve’s standing on the opposite balcony, one hand holding a watering can, the other on his hip, with a sheepish smile gracing his face.

“I thought this stuff was supposed to be good for plants,” Tony grumbles.

“It is. It just smells like toxic waste. But it’s amazing for plant growth,” says Steve cheerfully.

They both continue to water their own gardens and Tony pointedly ignores the tin foil hat on Steve’s head.

He so pointedly ignores the gleaming accessory, that he entirely forgets to prune the vines.

The next day, he’s harried and stressed. Altogether not a good mood for him to be attempting to handle pointy shears. He’d been interrupted from a fantastic dream about him and Steve having a lovely date ( _hat not included_ ) by the sound of shrill ringing in his ear. Darting awake, he realised with a grimace that he’d fallen asleep at his desk again. His sore back and neck did not thank him.

When he answered the call, he was rewarded by an angry investor who bit his head off for a good half an hour, demanding entirely unfeasible design changes. By the time he was finished, Tony’s head is throbbing and he barely has enough time to gulp down an aspirin and some water. He’s five minutes late for his first meeting of the day and he has to deal with his presentation with a throbbing migraine. Judging by the scowl on his PA’s face, he’s botched it up. He skips lunch in favour of signing contracts and by the time he opens the glass doors to Pepper’s apartment he’s faintly nauseous. He’s finished watering everything, and he picks up the shears when a familiar glint catches his eye.

Steve’s bright smile marginally lifts the dark cloud that’s hanging above his head, but only marginally. When the other man notices his lack of enthusiasm, his smile drops and he looks closer. “Long day?” he asks sympathetically.

Shrugging noncommittally, Tony begins to prune the vines, cutting off leaves that were yellow and dried up and shrivelled.

He notices, with a start, that his hands are trembling.

He’s musing to himself that it probably isn’t such a good plan to be handling the shears when they slip and he ends up with a gash on his arm.

The combination of his long day, the lack of proper food ( _and potentially low blood sugar_ ) and his deep distaste for blood, leaves his mind reeling. He stumbles for a second before sitting down heavily, not caring about the fact that he’s probably ruining his work pants by sitting in muddy water.

“Tony? Are you ok?”

His tongue feels oddly heavy, he thinks to himself, and he waves Steve’s concern away.

The blond man lets out a hiss, “Shit, you’re bleeding. Ok, I’m coming over, is there any way you can unlock the door for me?”

“It’s unlocked.” He says casually.

Less than a minute later, he hears Pepper’s front door open and close. In a daze, he looks up and sees someone with bright gold hair above him. They haul him up and lead him through the glass doors. Whoever it is, they have a bright disk of light above their head. Huh, maybe Tony has it all figured out. But he always thought that angels were meant to be delicate and kind, not heavy-handed like the way this one is hauling him up from under his armpits.

Sitting him down on the sofa, the figure sighs and says, “I’m not an angel Tony. I think you’re just a bit in shock. Now lay down here and keep still for a bit ok? I’m going to get the first aid kit.”

Funny, thinks Tony to himself, the angel sounds awfully familiar.

Once Steve’s forced some water and some cookies down Tony’s throat, as well as wrapped his arm up in a bandage, Tony’s considerably more coherent and lucid.

Unfortunately, that means that he’s now aware of his actions over the last few minutes and he’s mortified. Fortunately for him, Steve looks amused and pats Tony’s head. “I mean, I’m hardly going to get offended if a cute guy tells me I remind him of angels, now am I?”

He’s momentarily distracted by the feel of Steve’s hand on his head, but when it strikes him, he blinks, “Wait. You think I’m cute?”

The other man grins, “You’re not ugly.”

“ _Gee Steve_ , you know the way to a man’s heart,” he drawls, amusedly, “That’s what I’ve always aspired to be, not ugly.” In reality, it’s a pretty good compliment all things considered.

“Fishing for compliments already?” says Steve, his eyebrow raised.

Tony tries to sit up and sways as all the blood rushes from his head. Steve supports him, “Don’t move too fast.”

His cell phone rings and he frowns when he’s sees it’s Pepper.

“I, uh, may have told Pepper what happened?”

Pepper, of course, orders him to stay the night at her apartment and then asks Steve to check on him the next morning before he goes to work.

Which is why Tony wakes up to the smell of pancakes and freshly made coffee and the sight of Steve in one of Pepper’s aprons, flipping said pancakes at the stove.

“I hope you don’t mind, I asked Pepper already. But she said you don’t normally eat a lot for breakfast and you need to take better care of yourself.”

Tony blinks. “I mean. _Free pancakes_. Even I’m not stupid enough to turn down free pancakes.”

He hasn’t had breakfast with anyone in more than a year but it’s nice to share a table with someone for more than business. He discusses what he does for a living with Steve who looks impressed and for once Tony doesn’t get the feeling he’s being made fun of. He listens as Steve tells him about his job as a comic book artist.

It’s only when they’re washing up the dishes at the kitchen sink that Tony thinks to ask about the hat and whether he really thinks it’s to ward off aliens.

Steve looks confused but then bursts out laughing.

“I forgot I told Pepper that,” he cackles. “No, I mean, I believe there might be life out there, but I don’t think a tin hat would do much to stave them off. My nephew made this for me, and he put so much effort into it, I couldn’t bear not to use it.”

He shakes his head fondly before adding, “He’s coming to visit me this weekend, his mom was saying he’s into flower crowns now.” Laughing, he hands Tony a plate to dry and says, “I always wanted to wear a flower crown.”

And as he pictures Steve wearing a flower crown, the sunlight glinting off the top of his blond hair as he stands amidst his plants, Tony realises he just might be slightly in love with Pepper’s neighbour.

                                                                                                                        

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because fluffy happiness makes me melt a bit inside. That's it. That's the reason for this.
> 
> Also the first time I tried to help with something I got pulled into a door latch by my dog and ended up like Tony.


	3. Chapter 3

He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t a little bit nervous. This was the first time that he was meeting Steve at somewhere besides in Pepper’s apartment. Agreeably, they’d hit it off pretty well, with Steve taking Tony’s phone number and messaging him throughout the day to make sure he was ok. But that didn’t mean that he’d find Tony interesting for a prolonged period of time, or at least, that’s what Tony’s over-active brain was telling him.

They’re meeting for coffee at a tiny little restaurant that Steve’s messaged him about. He’d sent Tony the details and the location on a map and Tony had agreed without a second thought. They’d decided to have a cup of coffee, catch up and head back.

And that in turn lead to the next conundrum that Tony was facing. So far, he’d had plenty of excuses to bump into Steve over the past few days because he could ask for tips on dealing with Pepper’s garden. But Pepper would be back tomorrow morning and she wouldn’t need Tony to look after her garden anymore. Which meant that Tony had to decide what move he was going to make, and quick.

It doesn’t take him long to find the place.

Small and tucked into the corner of the street, Tony would have completely missed it if not for a familiar face standing right outside. When Steve catches sight of him, he beams and gives him a friendly hug. He turns around and leads Tony inside and Tony’s glad Steve can’t see how red his face has become.

Cartinelli’s, on the inside, has an old-fashioned and comfortable vibe about it. There’s something about the atmosphere that seems welcoming. It’s not very big, with enough tables and chairs to seat people comfortably, and chalkboard menus. When they walk in the front door, a tiny bell above it rings and a young woman walks out to the counter. Her rich brown hair is pulled back into a style that makes her look nothing short of distinguished and her lips, painted with bold red lipstick, curve into a smile as she sees the customers.

“Hello there Steve! I was wondering when you’d be in today. And who’s this that you’ve brought along?”

She’s got a faint British accent, Tony thinks, it’s crisp and reminds him of the foggy streets of London.

“Hi Peg, this is Tony. The guy I was telling you about? He’s been looking after Pepper’s garden for a while since she’s away.”

Something flashes across Peggy’s (as her name tag reads), which looks like amusement, but she quickly regains her composure and smiles winningly at them.

“It’s lovely to meet you Tony, I’ve heard nothing but good things about you from Steve. Would you two like to order now or a bit later?”

Tony looks at Steve and he says, “I’m alright with ordering now if that’s ok with you?”

He orders a large coffee with milk and sugar, along with a slice of apple piece and ice-cream. Steve gets himself a pot of tea with vanilla steamed milk and a sandwich. They sit at a table near the window and Tony’s grateful that the conversation flows as easily as it does.

“Did you meet your nephew?” he asks suddenly, remembering their earlier conversation, “The one who was going to make you a flower crown?”

Steve’s eyes light up at the mention and he carefully pulls it out of his bag, where he’s neatly wrapped it in a cloth and placed it in a box for safe-keeping. “With how windy it’s been today, I didn’t want to wear it outside, not after Clint took so much effort to make it!” It’s a simple daisy chain, but Steve looks resplendent in Tony’s opinion when he puts it on.

“Clint’s a sweetheart, you’d like him. He’s a little shit at heart, but he’s really smart. He had a bit of a rough start and he’s hearing impaired, plus money’s been a bit tight so it’s been hard to put him through school. But he never complains and he always does his best to help. I’ve been putting aside some money from some of my projects to help him through school, you know, every little bit counts.”

“You know,” Tony says slowly, “Stark Industries has scholarships and funding programs for deserving kids. From the sound of it, Clint would definitely qualify for a bursary. I could get Pepper to take a look at it for you if you want, she knows the funding programs a lot better than I do.”

For a moment, Tony thinks he’s overstepped his boundaries. Steve’s gone quiet and it takes a minute before he replies, “I couldn’t ask you to do that.”

“You’re not asking. Besides, that’s the point of using the money that we’ve been given, to make things better for other people.”

“Thanks Tony,” Steve says, with a watery smile, and Tony gulps his coffee down, ignoring the burning in his mouth because at least that way he can blame his red cheeks on the heat of his coffee.

When they finish at the café and pay, Steve links his arm with Tony’s and they stroll back to their apartments. He’s about to go into Pepper’s when Steve invites him in.

Steve’s apartment is more eclectic than Pepper’s, there’s unfinished paintings and sketches and paints on the table. But it’s cheerful, Tony thinks to itself. It has character and warmth and makes Tony want to come back.

Tony helps Steve care for his garden, listening intently as Steve explains the meaning of some of the flowers and the origins of some of the plants, how he’d been gifted a few of them and fallen in love with them.

“Sometimes,” he muses, “I think the plants grow better when you talk nicely to them. It sounds weird doesn’t it?”

“Just a little bit,” Tony admits, but really, who is he to judge because he talks to his robots. In fact, except for a select few people, he probably talks to his robots more than he talks to real humans.

When they’re almost done, Steve pauses, letting the wind ruffle his hair, “Hey Tony, you know, I was thinking. Pepper’s going to be back tomorrow morning. And that means she won’t need anyone to look after her garden anymore.”

“I guess so,” Tony answers slowly.

Luckily, Steve soldiers on, “You’ve still got a lot to learn about taking care of plants,” Steve says with a shy smile, “But it seems like you’re a fast learner. I’m sure with a good teacher, you’d be wonderful at it.”

“Really now,” Tony drawls, “You wouldn’t happen to know anyone who might be able to help would you?”

There’s a coy smile on Steve’s lips as he saunters closely to Tony, “I can think of someone.”

And when they finally kiss, Tony thinks the flowers might be applauding in the background.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All jokes aside I actually read something about a person who talked to their plants everyday and it helped them grow well.

**Author's Note:**

> Quick author's note
> 
> I'm meant to be working on other pieces now, especially diaries of a forgotten soldier as well as a potential prequel to flicker. But I couldn't get myself to focus. This will be potentially the only mention I will make of this here, but what happened today (or yesterday depending on where you are) was horrifying. I'm not going to lie, it was deeply saddening that such a choice would be made. I can't help anyone as much I would like to, but I will write all the fluff in the world to make people feel better. To anyone affected by this, I hope you all see something good soon.
> 
> End Note
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this! There will be one or two more chapters before I end this story!


End file.
